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That said! Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. :)
Depression. The last unit of his History of Psychology course. Cold irony.
Roman felt numb.
"Hippocrates, a Greek physician, suggested that personality traits and mental illnesses were related to balanced or imbalanced body fluids called humours," Doctor Crane said, switching to the next slide on his powerpoint presentation lecture. "There were allegedly four 'humours': yellow bile, black bile, phlegm and blood. Hippocrates classified mental illnesses into categories that included mania, melancholia—depression, and phrenitis—brain fever."
Roman wasn't paying attention. His eyes saw the bold letters and his hand took notes on the oration, but his mind was far from psychology.
Randy was leaving.
He'd made the announcement last night shortly after Roman brought Dean and Seth out of his parents' house. The excuse he fished out was an itch to go back to Zodiac. Half-off drinks after six on Sundays, after all. In truth he wanted them out of that house for the time being. They were safe with him.
So he thought. So he wanted to believe.
"Seth, Randy," Roman said in the car. "Randy, Seth."
Randy shook Seth's hand. "Hi, Seth."
"Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."
"Me too." Randy's eyes went to Dean. He pitied Dean. That was apparent. "Hey again, Dean."
"Hi, Randy."
"Where the hell do we go?" Roman asked, turning the engine over. "Where the hell is even safe for us anymore?"
"Well, we don't have to stay there, but I'd really like to go by your place anyway," Dean said. "Kinda miss my guitar."
"And then what?" Roman asked. "Stay there and just wait for the Wyatts to maybe break in and maybe not?"
"You got a gun? If they break in, we blow 'em away. Simple as that. 'Say Hello To My Little Friend' law."
"'Make My Day' law," Seth corrected.
"Whatever."
"Yeah, guess that's the only choice we really have," Roman said.
"Don't worry about them trying anything tonight, Ro." Dean poked his shoulder from the back seat. "There won't be any delay in what those guys'll do to Bray Wyatt after what I said."
Roman wanted to believe him. But nerves were winning him over.
"We don't even have to go back to your place," Dean went on. "You can stay here with us. I'm sure Mama Steph won't mind."
"I'm not going to intrude. And I don't want her questioning anything."
"It's not an intrusion." Dean turned to Seth. "Right? Your mom would let him stay over."
"Well, she wouldn't say no…" Seth said, sounding like he had a counter to that, but he didn't give it vocal life.
"I'd feel a lot better at my place," Roman argued. "If the Wyatts do follow us anywhere tonight, I'd rather them follow us back to my place. That way nobody in your family is at risk, Seth."
"I can second that."
"Um, if it's alright to interrupt, Roman?" Randy interjected. "If we're heading back to the apartment, I'm gonna pack a bag and head over to my sister's for the night. Whatever this trouble is you're in, I really don't want any part of it."
"I understand," Roman said. "Where does your sister live?"
"Out in Falcon."
That was quite the distance from their apartment. He'd be safe there. Roman felt awful for his forced attachment to his predicament. "Okay. Want me to drive you? Make sure you get there alright?"
"I can drive myself. Thanks."
Roman understood that, too. He couldn't run the risk of Bray Wyatt following them all the way out to Falcon, either. His efforts, though heartfelt, would be for nothing.
So he'd brought them all back to Roman and Randy's apartment. Randy wasted no time in packing an overnight bag, including his school bag and necessary textbooks so he wouldn't need a reason to come back to this place in the morning. Dean tried to apologize to Randy, but Randy either pretended he couldn't hear Dean or suddenly was completely deaf. Randy said he'd "catch Roman later" and wished him luck against the "crazies."
The night hadn't been comforting. Dean played a little guitar, Seth and Roman tried putting on a movie that nobody paid attention to. Seth shot a message to his parents late, saying he was crashing at Roman's after having one too many at Zodiac, like a child who needed to check in with his folks before they went into panic mode and called the police.
Sleep came much too late and in very short supply.
Roman was groggy in the morning. He woke with Dean in his arms, and the fact only helped him feel a bit better. He dressed for school and left Dean sleeping in his bed, finding Seth awake on the couch under the comforter Roman had provided for him.
"Sleep okay?" Roman tried.
Seth cocked his head. "Could have been worse. Could have pulled an all-nighter."
"You work today?"
"Yeah, but not till eleven. When are you free again?"
"Three. It's my long day at school."
"So Dean's going to be alone for four hours?"
Roman bit his lip. "Yeah. Seems to be the case. But I know him well enough by now he's probably not going to do anything too stupid."
"Like swing by downtown and see if Bray Wyatt was gunned down last night?"
"Like that."
Seth pushed himself from the couch. "He won't. You're right. I know him, too. Better than anyone."
"Hungry?"
"I could eat."
"Think I might have some pop-tarts leftover…" Roman stalked into the kitchen to confirm this guess. Seth followed him.
Roman's phone buzzed in his pocket. He read over a text from Randy.
Hey Roman. Hope ur still alive. Listen, I'm gonna have to move out of the place for a while if u don't think it's safe. It's nothing against u. If ur all about protecting me, then I hope u know how right this is. I can provide my share of rent for this month. If u can't find a replacement for me by next month, let me know and I'll give u more money. I'm sorry. I hope everything works out and ur boy makes it out ok. Maybe once this is all over, we can b roommates again. I did enjoy living with u. Ur a pretty cool guy. But for now I think it's best for me to leave.
Roman felt himself tearing up. The initial pain was nothing compared to what he knew he'd be feeling for certain later on, once the reality of the situation fully nestled into his already screwy brain. He touched a finger to his eye.
"You alright?" Seth asked, touching his shoulder.
"Randy's moving out," Roman said.
"Oh." Seth pursed his lips. "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah. Guess I have to find a replacement. Can't afford this place on my paycheck alone."
"We'll get something worked out, alright?"
"This is such bullshit," Roman said, tugging the pantry door open. "I just can't believe it. When did life decide to get so fucking convoluted?"
"The minute Dean walked into it?"
"No, I wouldn't put it like that." Roman realized there was only one pop-tart left in the box. He chucked the empty box towards the trash can, handing the wrapped toaster pastry to Seth. He wasn't too hungry, anyway.
"It's true though, right? I mean, no offense, Dean is my everything, but that's the honest-to-God answer to your question."
Roman realized with daggers in his heart that Seth was right.
"But at the same time, it got so much better," Roman said. "Seth, I fell for Dean big time. I love him to the end. I didn't realize it was possible to be this happy. For me to feel this way about anyone…and for them to feel the same way about me."
"Exactly." Seth offered an assured smile. "You have to take the good with the bad. He's worth it."
"He is. That doesn't mean the parts that suck don't really, truly suck, though."
Roman glanced up and saw Dean standing in the doorway of his bedroom.
"Hey, good morning," Roman said.
"Morning." Dean looked even more faint than Roman felt. He staggered towards the kitchen like a drunkard. "Roman, listen. I'm sorry I'm ruining your life."
Roman was incredulous. "Dean, you're not—"
"Yes, I am, Roman. By being with you, I've driven out your roommate, made your apartment a future crime scene, put your entire existence in jeopardy. I shouldn't have stuck around as long as I did. I should have just left you alone."
"Dean, stop," Roman commanded.
"Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" Seth asked.
"You said it yourself, Seth!" Dean exclaimed. "Roman's life got worse when I walked in. I got him roped into this mess with the Wyatts. Bray was right. I was selfish. I gave into my feelings for you, Ro. I wanted you all to myself. Even if it meant sacrificing your safety."
"Okay, Dean, I love you and all," Seth said, "but don't ever say those words again. Bray Wyatt is a monster. You're not a manipulator—he's trying to manipulate you. He's trying to guilt you into coming back to his stupid gang by making you feel responsible for our well-beings."
"I do feel responsible for your well-beings."
"You're not telling Bray Wyatt to target us, Dean. You're not saying, 'Hey, you want me back? Here's how to get under my skin—two people who mean the absolute world to me. Go after them!' Bray Wyatt has been using psychological warfare on you. That's on him, not you. You're not forcing him to do anything. He's the sadistic bastard choosing to aim at us, because he knows what your weakness is."
"And knowing that he knows what my weakness is, isn't it selfish of me to continue hanging around you guys?"
"Of course not," Roman said. "Seth is right. He knows what would hurt the most, and he's taking full advantage. Even if he didn't have this against you, he'd strive for something else. He's the type not to give up over anything. He's the obnoxious relentless type."
"Yeah, so don't you dare buy into his game or feel guilty over anything. We're not here to serve as leverage. We're here to help you."
"I just wish I could do the same," Dean said. "You guys have done so much for me…I just…I owe the both of you so much, and…" He was trembling like a leaf caught in a violent wind. Seth and Roman both moved to hug him. Together they sandwiched him in a double embrace. Dean wrapped one arm over Roman's shoulder, and stuck one behind him to awkwardly hug Seth around the waist.
"We're going to make it out of this," Roman said. "One way or another. Okay? He's not the type to give up, and neither am I."
"Sounds like you gave up in your plan?" Seth asked.
"No. Not quite. I still believe in it. But I've been let down by my own actions before. Right now all I can do is wait and see what becomes of what I've done."
Reality was a bitch. A cold, unwelcome guest who settled in whenever she felt like it, more often than not at the inconvenience of her host. But Roman also had a good sense of reality, a brightness, a warm side of her. The side with Dean. His Dean Ambrose, the only one who made him feel so strong and so weak all at once. A deranged yet loving, faithful individual who wanted nothing more in the world than to be happy.
He deserved it.
Roman's professor announced that their essays would be due the following Wednesday. Roman's thoughts scattered like a thinning cloud. As better as Dean and Seth had made him feel earlier, he was still going to miss Randy like hell. He should have been used to it by now. Everyone he ever grew to care about left eventually.
He only hoped the single exception in his life would be Dean.
It would hurt worse than death to lose Dean.
Yet on a level he could feel himself bracing for it someday. Like it was inevitable.
He packed up his bag and shoved out of the classroom among his fellow peers. English was next—Literature of the 19th Century—but he really, truly didn't feel like going. He would have much rather been at home.
He wondered what Dean was up to, all alone this afternoon at Roman's apartment.
But Roman couldn't bring himself to skip class even over damn good reasoning. Not this close to the end of the semester, to finals. So he sucked in a breath and forced himself to endure another lecture, this one on specific themes in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. It was dreadfully boring and Roman found himself daydreaming through most of the lesson.
Most of his daydreams involved Dean in suggestive poses and little to no clothing.
Roman rolled out of class and found a picture message waiting for him in his phone. He didn't recognize the number, but he pulled up the picture to get a closer look at its contents.
It was a screenshot of a news article from this morning.
"One dead, two arrested in shooting investigation" was the title. The first paragraph talked about a possibly gang-related shooting downtown the night before. One gunshot victim had died at the scene; another was rushed to the hospital and expected to recover.
No names had been released.
The text following the picture was a bit of a relief. It's Seth btw. Using a buddy's phone at work. Saw this on the news and thought you might appreciate it. Dunno if it's our guy but let's hope.
Roman did hope. He hoped with every conscious thought that Bray Wyatt was involved. If they were lucky—if, perhaps the greatest if in existence—Bray was the one who'd died at the scene. But that creep finally locked up would be comforting enough.
He decided to head straight home after class. He couldn't even feel alright with going to the comic book store, in fear of Bray Wyatt—if he was still alive and/or free to wander the streets—following him there and targeting Cody and Neville. Once the names of the victims and suspects were released, he could rest a bit easier.
Roman tried not to speed home. He hoped Dean hadn't left. He knew of Dean's tendency to not listen.
But Dean was there when Roman unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment. He was surprised to find the place even tidier than usual. There were no dishes in the sink. The counters were clear. The carpet was streaked with impression lines, a sign someone had vacuumed very recently. Dean was on the floor, strumming away on Annie.
He looked up and met Roman with a warm smile. "Welcome home."
"Did you do this?" Roman asked, still amazed by the even better condition of the formerly decent place.
"A little. I wanted to help out a bit, y'know?"
Randy's bedroom door was still closed. "Did Randy come home?"
"I don't think so. It's just been me for as long as I've been here."
Roman arched an eyebrow. "Did you leave?"
"Yeah. I wasn't out long. Just ran an errand."
Roman wanted to be upset, but the point was Dean was alright. He had to learn not to be so paranoid, in spite of their circumstances. He knew Dean hated it when people worried too much about him. Weirdo.
"What'd you do?"
Dean smiled. He carefully placed Annie on the floor, then rose to his feet and walked towards the table. Roman didn't notice the Escape Velocity bag until Dean picked it up and handed it off to him.
"I wanted to get you a little something. Just a gift or two, to remind you of how much I love you for putting up with me."
"Oh, Dean, you didn't—"
"Yeah, yeah, I didn't have to, but I did anyway. Just open it."
Roman smiled. "Alright."
In the bag Roman first drew out a stainless steel Superman pendant on a leather necklace. "Aww," he said, fondling the silver "S". "I love it."
"Keep going," Dean encouraged.
Roman next extracted from the bag a little plastic box. Inside was a gray watch bearing the Superman logo. It didn't look cheap. "Holy shit, Dean," Roman said. "This is awesome. I love it."
"I love you, Superman." Dean leaned into Roman and kissed his cheek. "I really do."
Roman fastened the watch around his wrist and pulled the necklace over his neck. He had absolutely no intentions of ever taking the thing off, except perhaps to shower and sleep.
"We have a couple of hours until Seth gets off," Dean said. "What do you want to do?"
That devilish grin told Roman he knew what Dean wanted to do.
In his smile he let Dean know the very same thought was on his mind.
Using more than words, Roman was able to prove his deep love and full commitment to Dean in those two hours, just them, no pain, no drama, no worries.
Just them.
The next chapter reveals more about their fresh circumstances, plus a gripping scene you won't want to miss. I'm so excited to bring you the next part of the seemingly-unending trepidation of our boys!